Ken Cuccinelli plays up Virginia ties in Williamsburg

WILLIAMSBURG — From delivering papers for The Washington Post, refereeing basketball games in his native Northern Virginia, to serving in the General Assembly, Republican candidate for governor Ken Cuccinelli talked about his roots in the commonwealth at a campaign stop Saturday.

In front of about 150 people at a Williamsburg hotel, Cuccinelli spent the first part of an hour-long event focusing on his experiences small and large in the state, before taking questions from the audience.

One of the first came from an anti-abortion advocate who asked if he would defend same-sex marriage in Virginia, which currently faces a legal challenge.

Cuccinelli noted that he's defending the state's constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and would keep it up if elected over his Democratic opponent, Terry McAuliffe.

"As governor, I'd step in and do it again," he said.

Cuccinelli would go on to say a question about the possible impeaching of President Barack Obama was a matter for federal lawmakers, but he would continue his history of opposing federal measures if voted into the governor's mansion.

Cuccinelli as attorney general, a position he continues to hold as he campaigns, challenged federal environmental regulation and the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, known by its detractors as "Obamacare."

He also defended himself against criticism over his ownership of Star Scientific stock, which he initially failed to disclose. The company and its CEO, Jonnie Williams Sr., are at the heart of a gift scandal that has ensnared Gov. Bob McDonnell, whom Cuccinelli hopes to replace in office.

Cuccinelli first said that the ownership of Star Scientific stock did not create a conflict of interest since the Attorney General's office was consistent in its adversarial position toward the company, which has for years been fighting the state in court over a tax assessment.

He also said that he voluntarily disclosed the stock interests, which he argued would never have come to light otherwise.

"I was the one who reported that (disclosure) mistake," he said.

"I'm going to make mistakes," he said, but, he added, will admit to them and correct them, as well.

Cuccinelli hustled out of the hotel and an aide said he would not have time to answer a reporter's questions after the event.